Thursday, April 30, 2015

Today Satchi and I took a trip via bus to Miyanoura harbor, the biggest town on the island. The bus was coming every hour... and it took another hour to get to our destination... I think it was well worth it. On our way to our bus station, rain came down very hard so we sat in the little bus station shack for a while... just listening to the sound of rain, watching trees moving and cars going by. It reminded us of a scene from Totoro movie which we so love. Then the rain stopped and sun eventually came out. I enjoyed having some quiet time with her and watching the landscape of the island from the bus. It was quite lovely. Our destination today was a ferry building... 2nd floor... a newly opened (on 4/25!) cafe Yuki-Koke-Ya. Everyone we knew from the island was talking about this special cafe and adjascent shop Niti gu. There is something truly romantic about a cafe at harbor... the ocean breathe, the sound of ferry arriving... and travelers with suitcases full of hopes and dreams. I came home with a pair of glasses from glass artist Shiho Hayasaki and coudln't be more thrilled when I saw how water looked inside of the glass. Just perfect:)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

We had our first real rainy day after being here for a week. Yakushima is known as an island of rain... so we totally embrace both sunny and rainy days. Girls woke up really excitedly with the sound of rain this morning. (since we rarely get it in Los Angeles). They were even more excited when Frido let them hold umbrella in the house. Satchi immediately used the umbrella to create her little makeshift nest for her to hang out and kill time and Coco followed. So necessary for kids to get bored and find their own creative play. Everyone did their own thing roaming from one place of dome house to another... cooked and ate throughout the day...
Tomorrow my dad heads back to Osaka.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Good morning from Yakushima. I went to sleep really early after spending the day with the whole family... Sun and good dose of incredible nature can do some good for the body:) In return... I am able to work early in the morning before everyone wakes up in this beautiful dome house. With our time difference between Japan and Los Angeles, Nerine who has been leading the fulfillment/shippment effort at Baum-kuchen and I can catch up over email. I am so fortunate that we could make things work fluidly this way without pausing Baum-kuchen while we are on the road:)

A day before yesterday my dad arrived here from Osaka and Frido's dad Michael arrived from his solo excursion around Japan. The night we invited my grandfather's best friend Makoto-san and Fusako-san to dinner and shared Sunday supper together. It was nine of us in the dome house... talking in German, English and Japanese... and I thought Jiji, my grandfather, must be looking over our shoulder listening to our conversations. To have our German side of the family plus my father in the same house with Satchi and Coco... on this remote island in Japan. Life brings such an interesting twist sometimes.

I look forward to going with the flow and see what each moment brings to us during our travel. Because life happens unplanned:)

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Since we just never know when weather turns and starts raining on this island, we tend to maximize our sunny day to the most. Satchi and Coco both LOVE water so we always head to the beach first... then combining few stops to check out shops and cafes. Seriously... cafe culture in Japan is so incredible. We stopped by Kiina, a small cafe that just opened last month in a tiny little village on the other side of the island. The owner transformed a part of the traditional Japanese style house into a cafe/shop including a small garden by herself and it was delightful. I always admire attention in details and how those small elements speak together to create a space, experience... and an ultimately an authentic voice. It was inspiring to feel what is possible in a small space. How comfortable a place can feel. I have been tinkering with the idea of Baum-kuchen cafe for a while. Wouldn't it be nice to sip a cup of coffee while you customize your Traveler's Notebook or browse a collection of curated Baum-kuchen library books?? Afterward we took a long drive to see Kei-san, a jewelry designer at Shizuku Gallery. I am not a jewely person at all and really wear jewerly for meanings instead of accessorizing. I have been wearing 2 of his rings that signifie Satchi and Coco to me along with my wedding ring. Few weeks ago Satchi asked me why I don't have a ring that means "me" next to Frido, Satchi and Coco... so I figured that it is time for a small addition to my ring finger. Neither Kei-san nor I know how this custom ring is going to look like yet but I trust his creative process and the energy he instill in his making. Stay tuned:)